Next thing you know, you've got problems: You discover the system doesn't work as well as you'd hoped. You call Customer Service, but can't seem to get the help you need. So, you decide to switch services. But to your dismay, you discover you're going to lose a lot of money if you switch now because you're locked into a contract.

Frighteningly, this scenario is not uncommon. A lot of unsuspecting folks get into bad deals with less-than-ideal products… and then have to pay a fortune to switch.

For this reason, it is essential that you only use services that let you “try it before you buy it.” This prevents you from getting locked into a system that isn't right for you.

With a system like this, you should never have to worry about getting “stuck” because you can try it out for free… plus some services offer pay-as-you-go pricing and never require you to sign a contract. You should only use a system if you LOVE it, and you should never be forced into using it.

Similarly, it is important to find a system that offers pay-as-you-go pricing, that never requires you to sign a contract, and who's sales team isn't on commission. This way, if you only do one event a year, you only pay to take registrations for that one event, don't have to pay any unnecessary monthly fees or maintenance costs, and only pay when you're actually processing registrations with the system.

Too, as mentioned above, the sales team is highly important to your customer satisfaction. With a non-commission-based and overstaffed sales team, you never get a “hard sell,” and your calls will hopefully get answered over 90% of the time by a real person and your emails are responded to within a couple business hours.

The bottom line is you want to try out a registration service before you're financially committed to using it. Avoid signing long-term contracts or getting roped into a system that's not right for you. Make sure that you can do all the research needed before you pay to find a friendly easy-to-use system that offers everything you need.